Impressions: Dawn of War II beta video walkthrough

The beta for Dawn of War II is now underway, and we've got some early beta …

Though StarCraft 2 is on the horizon, the first great RTS treat of 2009 is upon us. The beta for Relic's Dawn of War II, sequel to the 2004 Warhammer 40K-themed RTS which started the ball rolling for the company's unique take on the RTS genre, is well underway. Taking a decidedly different route than its competitor, the new Dawn of War title promises to deliver gamers a fast-paced and frenetic RTS experience.

We've been looking forward to the game's release for quite some time, so we thought we'd try something a little different with these beta impressions. We've decided to roll our thoughts and some notes about what does and doesn't return in this second installment of the Dawn of War franchise into a video walkthrough. In addition to demoing a typical one-on-one versus match, the walkthrough contains a few tidbits about what playing the game is like. Take a look:

After just a few hours of play, Dawn of War II already looks like it will deliver its promise of offering a streamlined, fast-and-loose style of RTS play that feels more like Defense of the Ancients than it does a normal RTS game. Combat is key, and keeping your squad on the move—as you can see in the video—is essential, as is learning to utilize your special abilities.

The only area of the game's multiplayer that is suspect at this point is balance. Only after hours and hours of play-time against various opponents will it become clear whether or not the game's four factions are balanced. At this point, the new Tyranid army seems to be incredibly powerful compared to the others, mimicking the Zerg of StarCraft or the Chinese of C&C: Generals in terms of sheer number.

Nevertheless, our play-testing so far has been largely enjoyable. If Relic can nail the single player experience that it has promised, which is said to offer a non-linear campaign that is highly replayable, then the two modes packaged together should make for one of the most refreshing RTS experiences to land in some time. We'll be digging deep into the game through the course of the next few weeks in preparation for the game's February 18 launch, so stay tuned for more impressions.